NKorea says SKorea faked evidence of torpedo attack, warns of 'all-out war' if punished

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea, accused of waging the deadliest attack on the South Korean military since the Korean War, flatly denied sinking a warship Thursday and warned that retaliation would mean "all-out war."

April 24: Sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan is lifted from 

waters near the disputed sea border with North Korea.

Evidence presented Thursday to prove North Korea fired a torpedo that sank a South Korean ship was fabricated by Seoul, North Korean naval spokesman Col. Pak In Ho told broadcaster APTN in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang.

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Thai troops move against protest holdouts

Violence in Bangkok largely quelled, but unrest spreads

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Thai army soldiers stand guard over blindfolded detainees during an operation to evict anti-government Red Shirt protesters from their encampment in Bangkok on Wednesday.

 

By JOCELYN GECKER

updated 25 minutes ago

BANGKOK - Buildings smoldered across central Bangkok early Thursday and troops exchanged sporadic fire with pockets of holdouts a day after the army routed anti-government protesters in a push to end Thailand's deadliest political violence in nearly 20 years.

The government quelled most of the violence in the battered Thai capital after a major military operation that killed at least 7 people and left 88 wounded. But underlying political divisions that caused Thailand's crisis may have been exacerbated, and unrest spread to provinces in the north and northeast.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva imposed a nighttime curfew in the capital and 23 other provinces and said his government would restore calm. Although leaders of the Red Shirt demonstrators surrendered, sporadic clashes between troops and remaining protesters continued Thursday morning.

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S. Korea vows ‘firm’ action against North

 Report says torpedo sank warship; Pyongyang warns against punishment

A giant offshore crane salvages the bow section of the South Korean naval ship Cheonan off Baengnyeong Island, South Korea, on April 24.

updated 1 hour, 35 minutes ago

SEOUL - South Korea on Thursday accused the North of sinking a navy ship last March, saying the evidence was overwhelming and that it would take "firm" measures against its isolated neighbor.

The North called the report by international investigators a fabrication and warned that it was prepared to go to war if the South takes sanctions against it, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

A joint civilian and military investigation team, that included experts from the United States, Australia, Britain and Sweden, concluded that a North Korean submarine fired the torpedo that sank the Cheonan corvette, killing 46 sailors.

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